Wednesday, December 26, 2007

The Housewives' Monthly Calendar: January's Table of Work

TABLE OF WORK

1. Use up any Christmas left-overs at once.

2. As soon as you have welcomed in the New Year, make a close inspection of your wardrobe and linen cupboard, and take advantage of the bargains at the White Sales. If you have children, inspect school kits and replenish where necessary.

3. Pay all club subscriptions which fall due now, also any dog or wireless or other licence.

4. Settle any accounts held over from last year and if you have a balance on the right side, keep it for an emergency.

5. If you have a country home or a town home with a garden, discuss, plan and decide on the flowers and vegetables you want, and order what requires to be sown at once.

6. Replace any shortages in your store cupboard, taking advantage of any cheap offers.

7. If short of Seville orange marmalade, make a supply of ginger marmalade, orange and apple jelly, and apricot jam from dried apricots.

To use up Oddments of Boiled Ham

Allow 2 oz. ham fat or 2 oz. butter to 1 lb. ham. Put both through a mincer with a fine knife. Season to taste with French mustard, and cayenne, and rub through a fine sieve. Pot, and cover with clarified butter or lard. Pot tongue in the same way, allowing 2 or 3 oz. butter to 1 lb. tongue, and flavouring with ground mace as well as cayenne and mustard.

(The Housewives' Monthly Calendar by Elizabeth Craig, 1936 Chapman & Hall, London)

1 comment:

Lucy said...

So nice to see you back! Yay for a non-traditional Christmas - we had more like Boxing Day food, and it was so relaxing and refreshing. Happy new Year!